Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Nigeria: Boko Haram

baroness cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Nigeria about reports of recent attacks by Boko Haram in Molai, Borno State.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We are concerned about reports of continuing attacks by insurgents in Borno State. We continue to urge the Nigerian Government to develop a clear strategy to tackle the conflict. The Foreign Secretary met the Nigerian Vice President during his visit in April to discuss long-term solutions to improve security, increase livelihoods and provide opportunities in the region. We will continue to look at how best to support the Nigerian Government in tackling the threat of terrorism, along with options for how the UK could further support dialogue and peacebuilding efforts.

Cameroon: Conflict Resolution

lord judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what involvement the UK currently has in conflict resolution in Cameroon; what plans they have, if any, to raise the conflict in Cameroon at the UN Security Council; and what representations they have made to the government of France about the impact of its policies on the government of Cameroon.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The UK continues to be deeply concerned at high levels of violence in the North-West and South-West (Anglophone) regions of Cameroon, reports of human rights violations and abuses and the severe impact the deteriorating humanitarian situation is having on ordinary civilians. We continue to call for an end to violence on all sides and urge the Government of Cameroon to establish a credible political dialogue to address the root causes of the crisis. The UK has shared experiences with the Government on conflict resolution; we remain ready to provide further support. On 13 May, the UK participated in an informal discussion on Cameroon at the UN Security Council, noting that dialogue and humanitarian assistance were needed to exit the crisis. The UK also raised concerns in a statement at the bi-annual UN Office for Central Africa briefing in the UN Security Council on 13 December 2018, calling for urgent action by the Government to prevent further conflict. The UK regularly discusses developments in Cameroon with international partners, including France and the US, to encourage and support efforts to resolve the crisis.

Leah Sharibu

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken tosecure the release of Leah Sharibu, following her sixteenth birthday.

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the protests in Nigeria demanding the release ofthe Chibok schoolgirls who have been held in captivity for over 1,500 days; and when they last raised their captivity, and that of Leah Sharibu, with the President of Nigeria.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK is committed to supporting the Nigerian Government in their attempts to secure the release of the remaining girls taken from Chibok, Leah Sharibu taken from Dapchi, and all others abducted by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa. The Prime Minister raised the plight of the abducted school girls with the President of Nigeria during his official visit to the UK in 2018. We continue to use Ministerial visits, such as the Foreign Secretary's visit last month, and public messaging to ensure that the girls' plight is not forgotten. Our officials in Abuja will continue to engage regularly and offer their support to the Government of Nigeria and other organisations working to securing their release.

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

lord luce: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in implementing the decisions made at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting held in London in April 2018.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs wrote to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) on 15 May 2019 enclosing an update on progress against commitments made at the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. I refer the Noble Lord to this report, which the FAC has now published on their website.

Nigeria: Minority Groups

lord selkirk of douglas: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 9 May (HL Deb, cols 1299–1300), what representations they intend to make to the government of Nigeria to call for urgent and effective action to be taken to protect ethnic and religious minorities in that country.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK is firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief around the world, as well as being a strong voice internationally in defence of this fundamental right. In Nigeria, the right to freedom of religion is protected by the Constitution. The Foreign Secretary, during his recent visit to Nigeria, raised the issue of freedom of religious belief with the Vice President and had discussions with religious leaders to discuss how the UK can further support their work to promote interfaith relationships and long-term peacebuilding.We are committed to working with Nigeria to help tackle threats to Nigeria's security and to address the underlying causes of instability which exist within Nigeria. We echo President Buhari's calls for calm and reconciliation between the many ethnic groups and communities that make up and contribute to the strength and diversity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia: Political Prisoners

lord judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action, if any, they will take should the evidence of the torture of political detainees in Saudi Arabia continue.

lord judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action, if any, they will take to secure the release of political detainees in Saudi Arabia.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The British Government is concerned about allegations of mistreatment of those detained in Saudi Arabia because of their political views. We continue to monitor these cases. We consistently and unreservedly condemn torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and it is a priority for us to challenge it wherever and whenever it occurs. We have explained our position at Ministerial level to the Saudi authorities and will continue to do so. We also regularly raise concerns using diplomatic channels of communication, including our Ambassador. ​

International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

baroness anelay of st johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they took to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia on 17 May and support its theme of "Justice and Protection for All".

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​To mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) government buildings across the UK and, where locally appropriate, our overseas missions flew the Rainbow flag. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office hosted an in-house panel event including LGBT Rights activists and lawyers that discussed tackling discrimination, advocating for decriminalisation and the issues facing LGBT equality globally. Our overseas missions celebrated in diverse ways including hosting civil society events and roundtables, and using social media to issue messages to mark IDAHOBIT that demonstrate the UK’s ongoing support for the human rights of LGBT people.

Israeli Settlements

lord judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amount of UK financial involvement with illegal settlements in the West Bank; and what action they will take to curb it.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have not made an assessment of this issue. It has long been our position that Israeli settlement activity is illegal. We do not recognise the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the settlements in the West Bank, as part of Israel and these settlements are not covered by the current EU-Israel Association Agreement which governs our trade with Israel.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Civil Proceedings

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money the NHS spent as part of legal settlements in each year from 2009 to 2018; and how much of each year's spend relates to legal fees.

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money the NHS has set aside for potential legal settlements in 2019; and how much they have budgeted for legal fees.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: NHS Resolution has provided the following information:NHS Resolution has provided tables which cover:- total expenditure for NHS Resolution Clinical Negligence Schemes and NHS Resolution non-clinical negligence schemes from 2009 to 2018;- the total legal costs per financial year; and- the draft budget for legal fees/damages 2019 for NHS Resolution Clinical Negligence Schemes and NHS Resolution non-clinical negligence schemes.The data is attached due to the size of the data.National Health Service spend on legal fees for matters other than clinical/non-clinical negligence settlements since 2009 has been interpreted as spend relating to NHS providers and commissioners.This includes NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts and NHS England and clinical commissioning groups. NHS spend on legal fees for non-negligence matters is shown in the following table.YearTotal legal fees (£000s)2013-14110,7472014-15171,8062015-16162,2732016-17172,1352017-18160,140Prior to 2013-14, expenditure on legal fees was not separately classified by primary care trusts and strategic health authorities who both carried out NHS commissioning and NHS trusts. Therefore, comparable information pre 2013-14 is unavailable.There is no specific category of expenditure that isolates spend relating to legal settlements in the NHS.We have interpreted the request for data for the amounts set aside in 2019 as the value of said provisions as at the end of the financial year, 31 March 2019. This data is still subject to audit and will not be available until after publication of the Annual Report and Accounts in July 2019.The budget totals for legal fees relating to NHS spend in 2019 is not available. 



HL15667_HL15668_data
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Tobacco: Retail Trade

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the paperImpact of a ban on the open display of tobacco products in retail outlets on never smoking youth in the UK: findings from a repeat cross-sectional survey before, during and after implementation, published in the British Medical Journal in May; and whetherthey will consider the implications of those findings for other unhealthy commodity industries, including gambling.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Government keeps all such evidence on the impact of its policies under review, including the possible wider application of individual policies to other areas. The Government intends to conduct a formal post-implementation review of this legislation with a report due in spring 2020 and evidence of this nature will be looked at to assess the overall impact of legislation. There are no plans to extend the current ban on open display of tobacco products in retail outlets to other products.

West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Finance

baroness thornhill: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much funding they provided to the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust in each year from May 2010 to May 2015.

baroness thornhill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what funding committed to the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust from May 2005 to May 2010 was (1) changed, (2) cancelled, and (3) forfeit, in each year from May 2010 to May 2015.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Department does not hold the information requested on funding which was changed, cancelled or forfeited in each year from May 2010 to May 2015.The following table shows the total amount of income that West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust received in the financial years 2011-12 to 2014-15.YearIncome £ million2011-12273.72012-13278.22013-14291.342014-15344.97 We are not able to divide the income into years from May to April due to how the data is reported, which is by financial year. Additionally, this is total income, so it includes Government funding plus any additional funding that the trust received.

Ministry of Justice

Euthanasia: Vulnerable Adults

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the current law permitting mentally competent adults to refuse life-sustaining medical treatment has ever been proven inadequate in the courts to protect vulnerable people from being pressured to end their life prematurely.

lord keen of elie: We have not seen evidence from the courts that the current provisions permitting mentally competent adults to refuse life-sustaining treatment provide inadequate protection for vulnerable people.

Euthanasia

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent research from the UK's Assisted Dying Coalition, published on 8 February, which found that more than one person a week now travels from the UK to Switzerland to end their life; and in light of that research, whether they plan to review the UK's assisted dying law.

lord keen of elie: It remains the Government’s view that any change to the law in this area in England and Wales is an issue of conscience and a matter for Parliament to decide rather than one for Government policy. Parliament has not so far voted to legalise assisted suicide in any circumstances.

National Preventive Mechanism

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to implement the recommendation of the UN Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment that the National Preventive Mechanism be placed on a legislative basis.

lord keen of elie: In 2009, the UK Government established the UK’s independent National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) which currently comprises 21 inspection, visiting and monitoring bodies covering detention places across the UK. The UK continues to comply with its international obligations under the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, under which the NPM was established. We note the sub-committee on Prevention of Torture’s recommendation, and we continue to explore with the NPM how it may be addressed.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Landfill: Hillingdon

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Newyears Green Lane landfill site is a special site of contamination; and what steps the Environment Agency has taken to ensure that any drilling into that site poses no risk to the Chiltern Aquifer.

lord gardiner of kimble: On 26 May 2011, in accordance with Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the London Borough of Hillingdon determined the land at the former ‘New Years Green Lane Landfill Site’ as Contaminated Land as defined by Section 78A (2) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (the Act). On 6 July 2011, the Environment Agency (EA) agreed to designate the land at New Years Green Landfill as a Special Site pursuant to Section 78C (6) (b) of the Act. The site is now within the regulatory control of the EA under Part IIA of the Act. There is no proposal to undertake any such drilling activity at the landfill site. However, the EA is involved in the technical review of any drilling proposals at this landfill. As a minimum requirement, any drilling works in the landfill or in areas where waste is suspected must utilise “clean” drilling methodologies to avoid potential cross contamination between different parts of the geology.

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Colne Valley

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether HS2 is compliant with the obligations of the EU Water Frameworks Directive in regards to its activity at Colne Valley; whether a risk assessment of drilling in that area has been undertaken; what assessment they have made of the impact of any such drilling on contamination of the watercourse; and what discussions they have had with HS2 about the possible risks posed by such drilling.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Environment Agency (EA) continues to discuss the assessment of the potential impacts of the High Speed Two (HS2) scheme on European Water Framework Directive (WFD) status with High Speed Two Ltd (HS2 Ltd) and its contractors for the Colne Valley.HS2 Ltd is producing a report about the impacts of the main construction works. Where the EA has issued approvals for enabling and investigation works, it has made sure that HS2 Ltd has assessed the WFD requirements.HS2 Ltd has a Code of Construction Practice which requires its contractors to work in accordance with British Standards ‘Investigation of potentially contaminated sites’ (BS 10175:2011) and ‘Code of practice for ground investigations’ (BS 5930:2015). By following the practices set out in this guidance, drilling would not cause contamination or further mobilise any contamination already present in the ground.The EA is working with HS2 Ltd to secure the protection of water bodies in the Colne Valley and also advises HS2 Ltd in relation to any potential environmental risks associated with the proposed construction.

Lung Diseases: Medical Equipment

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey havemade of the percentage of respiratory inhalers that (1) end up in landfill, and (2)are incinerated.

lord gardiner of kimble: Defra has not conducted an assessment of the percentage of respiratory inhalers which are ultimately landfilled or incinerated. Waste holders act in accordance with the waste hierarchy, so where waste does arise it is managed in the most resource-efficient way possible. The reuse or recycling of waste is preferred to energy recovery, through incineration for example, or disposal to landfill.

Home Office

Independent Office for Police Conduct: Standards

lord hogan-howe: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average time taken for the Independent Office for Police Conduct to investigate a public complaint about police behaviour.

baroness williams of trafford: The information you requested is available on the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s (IOPC) website, published via their annual reports. The 2017/18 report can be accessedhttps://policeconduct.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Documents/Who-we-are/accountability-performance/IOPC_annual_report_and_accounts_2017-18.pdf with previous reports available https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/who-we-are/accountability-and-performance/annual-report-and-plans The police conduct accountability and performance annual report: describes our work over the past year, including the investigations we have carried out, the appeals we have handled, and our work to increase public confidence in the complaints system. It also outlines what we have been doing over the past year to review and implement changes to the way we work.The 2017/18 performance year, the figures include 9 months of IPCC data (April to December) and 3 months of IOPC data (January to March).Figures for the 2018/19 performance year will be included in the IOPC’s next annual report which will be laid before Parliament and published later in the year.



OPC Annual Report and Accounts 2017-18
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Terrorism

lord stone of blackheath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 3 April (HL14709), what assessment they have made of the impact of the ban on direct flights to Sharm el-Sheikh on the current UK terrorist threat level.

baroness williams of trafford: As indicated prior, the threat level to the UK from international terrorism is kept under constant review by the independent Joint Terrorist Analysis Centre, whose judgements about the threat level are made on the basis of the very latest reporting and intelligence. This can change at any time as different information becomes available.The current threat level from international terrorism is judged to be SEVERE, meaning an attack is highly likely.

Biometrics

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of theaccuracy of facial recognition technology.

baroness williams of trafford: Facial recognition is a fast evolving area of technology with the potential to streamline identity verification and authentication processes across Government and the private sector. When used in the appropriate setting and context, it has proved to be a very reliable and accurate tool.Its performance is dependent on a number of variables, from the quality of the images, environmental factors, the specific algorithm used, the thresholds or risk profile applied and many other factors. Possible matches produced by LFR systems are always checked by a human operator before deciding what, if any, action to take.

Asylum: Eritrea

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many asylum claims were made in each of the past three years by Eritreans; whether more illegal migrants were smuggled into the UK last year from Eritrea than from any other country; and what assessment they have made of religious persecution in Eritrea as a driver of Eritrean migration.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office publishes data on the number of applications for asylum in the UK, broken down by nationality, in its quarterly Immigration Statistics release. The number of applications made by Eritreans in each year are available in table as_01 (Main Applicants; Asylum, volume 1).Latest edition available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/781299/asylum1-dec-2018-tables.odsYear Total applications 20161,23020171,08520182,158The Home Office is unable to report on whether more illegal migrants were smuggled in to the UK last year from Eritrea than from any other country, as the method of entry for those who entered the UK clandestinely and subsequently claimed asylum, is recorded on individual Home Office files and to obtain this information would require a manual trawl and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.All asylum and human rights applications from Eritrean nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations. Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw. The Country Policy and Information Note Eritrea: Religious groups published in February 2018 (available on Gov.uk) outlines our position.



Eritea Religious Groups 
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Asylum 1 - Dec 2018 Tables 
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British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies: Companies

lord harries of pentregarth: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they planto introduce a public register of beneficial ownership for (1) the Crown Dependencies, and (2) other tax havens for which the UK has responsibility.

baroness williams of trafford: It is important to note that the Crown Dependencies are self-governing jurisdictions with their own legislative assemblies, administrative, fiscal and legal systems and courts of law. They have confirmed they will develop public registers of company beneficial ownership once it has been established as a global norm.In October 2018 the UK Government launched an international beneficial ownership transparency campaign to shift global norms by encouraging and supporting more countries to implement free to access and publicly available company beneficial ownership registers by 2023. In line with this campaign, the UK Government will encourage the Crown Dependencies to voluntarily introduce measures to improve the transparency of their company ownership.Similarly, the Overseas Territories are self-governing jurisdictions. However, in accordance with the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, the UK Government will prepare an Order in Council by the end of 2020 requiring all Overseas Territories to have fully functioning publicly accessible registers in place by the end of 2023. The UK Government will work consensually with the Overseas Territories on introducing publicly accessible registers, which includes through technical workshops.

Deportation: China

lord morrow: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what grounds Wen Li (Jaiwen Li), who is reported to be held at Brook House immigration removal centre, is being deported to China; and what assessment they have made of any potential risks to him in China.

baroness williams of trafford: We do not routinely comment on individual cases. The UK has a proud history of granting asylum to those who need our protection and each case is assessed on its merits and individuals have the right to appeal to an independent immigration court.Where a decision has been made that a person does not require international protection, removal is only enforced when we and the courts conclude that it is safe to do so, with a safe route of return. We monitor the situation in countries of origin and update our positions regularly and make decisions on returns on a case by case.Guidance used by UK Visas and Immigration to make decisions on asylum and human rights applications is published and can be found on gov.uk

Migrant Workers: Football

lord wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the UK's departure from the EU, there will be any limit on the right of association football clubs in the UK to hire overseas nationals to work for them in circumstances where there is an adequate number of UK nationals seeking such employment.

baroness williams of trafford: As the Government set out in the Home Office White Paper, published on 19 December 2018, our future immigration system will continue to make provision for international quality sportspersons.As now, we will continue to work with our sports governing bodies to ensure we strike the right balance between enabling top level international sportspeople to come to the UK and protecting opportunities for resident sportspeople.

Northern Ireland Office

Abortion: Northern Ireland

lord steel of aikwood: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are takingto bring the law on abortion inNorthern Ireland into line with the rest of the UKwhile there is no functioning Assembly in Northern Ireland.

lord duncan of springbank: The Government recognises the sensitivities of this issue and the strongly held views on all sides of the debate in Northern Ireland and across the rest of the UK. As abortion is devolved, the best way forward is for locally accountable politicians in Northern Ireland to make decisions. We want to see devolved government restored at the earliest opportunity through the current political talks process.